Russia’s FSB security service has charged Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, with facilitating terrorism, and moved to place him on an international wanted list.
The charge accuses Durov of failing to take down channels and bots that the service says were used to coordinate attacks and sabotage inside Russia.
It is the sharpest turn yet in a long feud. Durov, already fighting a separate criminal case in France after his 2024 arrest near Paris, now faces prosecution in the country he left more than a decade ago.The FSB’s language is severe.
Under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of Russia’s criminal code, the service alleges that Telegram’s refusal to remove channels devoted to “mass killings” and cyber fraud has caused “numerous human casualties,” including women and children, and billions of roubles in damage.
Durov’s answer was scornful. He called the case “a sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” and repeated his charge that the Kremlin keeps inventing “new pretexts” to justify restricting Telegram inside Russia.
